Post by Magdel Pretorius

I've been quieter than usual this year. Deliberately so. Leading well sometimes means resisting the urge to talk — and choosing instead to watch, listen, and absorb what's happening around you. That's been my practice in 2026. And what I've been watching has been extraordinary. In the first six months of this year, our team engaged with close to 100 000 prospective students. Not through one department. Not through one channel. Through a deliberate, cross-functional effort — admissions, marketing, student services, and faculty — pulling in the same direction, learning from each other, and building something none of us could have done alone. Collaboration wasn't a buzzword. It was how we worked. This Youth Month — which this year marks 50 years since the Soweto Uprising — that number carries extra weight. Because what June 16 reminds us is that access to education was never freely given. It was demanded, at great cost, by young people who understood something that still holds true today: that education without dignity is not education at all. We don't take that lightly. Every prospective student we reach is a young person trying to figure out whether there's a place for them in higher education and at Stellenbosch University. Our job — all of ours, across every team — is to make the answer feel like yes. To my team: you have grown this year in ways that have genuinely moved me. Watching you collaborate, stretch, and show up for students you may never meet is one of the privileges of my year. The second half of 2026 has a lot to live up to. 👊 #YouthDay2026 #Reset50 #StudentAccess #HigherEducation #CrossFunctionalTeams #PresentLeadership #ProudLeader #June16 Cecile Sono (Theys)Landru Ehlers (MEd) Olivia Adams Joshua Davidson Michelle Swart Christelle Feyt @Bongiwe, Sivuyile, Eloize, Cindy, Hambly (not on LinkedIn)